Sunday, 14 November 2010

There is good music and then there is great music, maybe even Great music. Blackalicious, a rap-group from Sacramento (US) has made great records. One of which includes this specific track: Alphabetic Aerobics.

There is more great (educational) HipHop to be found, if you look thoroughly..

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Christopher Boone, the autistic 15-year-old narrator of this revelatory novel, relaxes by groaning and doing math problems in his head, eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes (one of his favorite characters) and track down the killer.

As the mystery leads him to the secrets of his parents' broken marriage and then into an odyssey to find his place in the world, he must fall back on deductive logic to navigate the emotional complexities of a social world that remains a closed book to him. In the hands of first-time novelist Haddon, Christopher is a fascinating case study and, above all, a sympathetic boy: not closed off, as the stereotype would have it, but too open-overwhelmed by sensations, bereft of the filters through which normal people screen their surroundings. Christopher can only make sense of the chaos of stimuli by imposing arbitrary patterns ("4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"). His literal-minded observations make for a kind of poetic sensibility and a poignant evocation of character. Though Christopher insists, "This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them," the novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice. (Publishers Weekly, 2003)

In the powerpoint you find a teacher pack with great activities to do before, while and after reading the novel. Want to try a detective game as a reward for the kids? Go for Het Mafia Spel.

Sunday, 7 November 2010

While the Obamas are in India for politics, they had time to celebrate a major religious festival with local pupils. Both first lady Michelle and President Barack showed their inner rhythm. The President's stop at a local school to celebrate Dilawi is part of a ten-day trip through four Asian nations. After India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan follow.

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

I read an interesting article in Volkskrant yesterday. Peter van Ammelrooy wrote a controversial article about how parents should accept gaming in their children's life. As with football-practice or basketball matches, they should watch them play from the sideline. Sit on the couch in the living-room and watch your kid game. Just to learn their own child's interests and to understand the digital world of Playstation, Xbox, Wii or PC.

A remark in the article was: "I rather have my kids playing a videogame that stimulates the brain and trains hand-eye coordination, than when they watch TV for 3 hours straight." I must say, I agree. I think a healthy combination of indoor and outdoor activity is the best. Go play soccer outside with friends and them go home and do a 360 on one of your online friends. Kids understand the difference between reality and fiction. Those that don't, don't need a videogame to do crazy things.. And if things really get out of control, you can always .....